Joe Lewton

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Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013

Joe Lewton

Joe Lewton credits his wife for helping him make one of the most important decisions of his life: going back to school.

“At the time, I was working two jobs. I had the experience, but not the education and was getting passed up for advancement,” says Joe. “My wife encouraged me to go back to school and to look at Herzing University.”

Joe earned his bachelor of science in business management from Herzing’s Atlanta campus in 2012 and is now enrolled in the online MBA program. As an operations advisor for Ryerson Inc. — one of the largest steel suppliers in the world — Joe manages 30 employees. He credits Herzing for providing him with the business knowledge he needed to improve his management skills and opportunities at Ryerson.

“I did my externship at Ryerson, but in a different department. For eight weeks I took on a new management role,” explains Joe. “Leadership saw what I was doing at Herzing and was impressed. I got a $15,000 salary increase and now they come to me for operations advice.”

Before going to Herzing, Joe never thought this kind of career advancement would be possible. As a father and husband with a full-time job, Joe wasn’t sure how he could add school into the mix. Herzing’s online flexibility and student-first approach gave Joe the opportunity to further his education.

“I knew I was in the right place at Herzing. I never felt like a number. I felt like family,” Joe says. “The faculty and staff really know how to put students first. They motivate you and are always willing to help. They make it easy to go to Herzing.”

Herzing gave Joe the education and support he needed to not only further his career, but also to better his life.

“I grew up with the philosophy that if you work hard, you can get what you need, but at Herzing I learned that education really makes a difference,” says Joe. “Now my career choices are endless and I’m showing my kids the importance of an education.”